Christian Brands Acquires R.J. Toomey

Christian Brands of Phoenix, AZ has acquired the R.J. Toomey Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.

R.J. Toomey is the oldest and best-known clerical apparel firm in the United States. The R.J. Toomey firm was founded in 1936 by Richard J. Toomey, and together with two of his brothers, Lawrence J. Toomey and John A. Toomey, incorporated the company in 1946. In 1973, the brothers Richard and John sold their interest in the company to Lawrence, who owned and operated the company until his death in 1976. Since 1976, the R.J. Toomey Company has been managed by the daughters of Lawrence Toomey and has solidified its position as the market leader in clergy shirts, tailored clergy apparel and altar server attire.

“We are very pleased to have a new strategic partner who will share our vision for R.J. Toomey and whose experience can help expand the company. This team is well versed with the needs of our industry and can help strengthen our position as a leader in the clerical apparel field,” said Pat Toomey Renda, president of R.J. Toomey. “With their resources, and the help of their field sales force, telemarketing staff and sophisticated Web presence, we firmly believe R.J. Toomey will continue to grow profitably and offer our customers the highest quality products and superior customer service that our industry have come to expect.”

Christian Brands, founded in 1948 as the Autom brand, is a distribution, importing and manufacturing firm with five distinct catalogs that sell direct to institutions and to an assortment of resellers across the country. Recent acquisitions in their reseller division include Robert Smith (furniture), Will & Baumer (candles), Creed (jewelry), Heartfelt (wall art) and Gerffert (art masterpieces). Products in these brands are sold to an assortment of channels within the Christian and secular gift fields with a special emphasis in the Christian church supply industry.

Paul DiGiovanni, president of Christian Brands, said, “We are thrilled to be a part of the great heritage at R.J. Toomey. The Toomey family has combined vision and hard work to build this brand into the indisputable industry leader. Together, with the wonderful long time employees of the R. J. Toomey Company, we are honored to continue this wonderful tradition.”

Christian Brands is headquartered in Phoenix Ariz., with manufacturing facilities, a call center and a distribution center in Lewisburg; Tenn.

R.J. Toomey will continue to manufacture in their present location in Worcester, Mass.